Background:
Through and through, I am a creature of habit. My planner is the most important purchase of the year and I thrive off my Sunday night organization session where I outline my upcoming week in multi-colored pens. I have certain habits for grocery shopping and laundry and when I like to study foreign languages.
These routines, much like running and writing, keep me grounded and focused. But at some point, routines can become too much. It isn’t until you’ve stepped outside of yourself for a day or a week that you notice how much you’ve missed. You know that feeling of taking a long weekend trip? Suddenly, Saturday seems to last forever as you forget about buying bananas and bread and focus on enjoying wherever you are.
All this is to say that while I appreciate some of the structures I’ve given my life, I can’t help but wonder what’s just outside the box. The new idea for Sunday blog posts is to write about one experience I had in the previous week that was out of routine, that wasn’t predictable, that made me think a little differently about myself and the world I live in.
Challenge 20: Join the Global Kindness Team
To catch you up to speed – I recently quit my job (my last day is the end of this week) to drive across the country spreading kindness and talking to people about Happiness on behalf of The Smile Project. I have been talking about this road trip for years and to finally be able to see it through is beyond exciting (and admittedly a little nerve wracking).
I was chatting with a friend recently when I realized how lucky I was to be in the position I am. More or less, I saw an opportunity to live out loud and even though it would have been easier to slink back, I stepped forward. And true to the idea of fortunate favoring the bold, the Universe took care of me.
The Pollination Project is a nonprofit organization that I have been following for years. They do incredible work providing seed grants to new projects and providing a support network for those who yearn to make the world a better place.
A few months ago, I was on a call with someone from the organization about volunteering with them when they added something at the end – they had a new project coming up about kindness and wanted to know if I’d be interested in being involved. I knew nothing else, but I knew enough: if kindness was involved, I was in.
Since then, I have been able to publicly announce my participation in the first Global Kindness Initiative through The Pollination Project. Myself along with three other incredible leaders spread across the world are running a new docket of sorts, looking to fund kindness projects.
If you or someone you know is interested in receiving a $1000 grant to spread kindness in your community in an inclusive, replicable, and meaningful way, let’s chat.
The Pollination Project has bettered my life in so many ways. If you even feel a small spark of inspiration upon reading this, we should talk. You should apply. You never know when something that feels really small turns into a movement or a nonprofit that changes the entire trajectory of your life.
Be bold. There’s beauty in that.
Love always,
Liz
